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Adam Walsh (American football)
| birth_place = Churchville, Iowa | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = | player_years = 1922–1924 | player_teams = Notre Dame | player_positions = Center | coach_years = 1925–1928 1929–1933 1934 1935–1942 1944 1945–1946 1947–1958 | coach_teams = Santa Clara Yale (line) Harvard (line) Bowdoin Harvard (line) Cleveland/LA Rams Bowdoin | admin_years = | admin_teams = | overall_record = 80–85–11 (college) 15–5–1 (NFL) | bowl_record = | tournament_record = | CFbDWID = 3968 | championships = 1 NFL (1945) | awards = | coaching_records = | CFBHOF_year = 1968 | CFBHOF_id = 20041 | BASKHOF_year = | BASKHOF_id = | CBBASKHOF_year = | CBASEHOF_year = }} Adam Walsh (December 4, 1901 – January 13, 1985) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a center at the University of Notre Dame where he was an All-American and captain of the 1924 team under Knute Rockne. Walsh then served as the head football coach at Santa Clara University from 1925 to 1928 and at Bowdoin College from 1935 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1958, compiling a career college football record of 80–85–11. He also coached the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams of the NFL in 1945 and 1946, tallying a mark of 15–5–1. Walsh was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1968. Playing career Walsh was an outstanding athlete at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, and earned varsity letters in basketball, track, and football at the University of Notre Dame. Walsh was an All-American center and captain of the 1924 Notre Dame football team under head coach Knute Rockne. Walsh anchored the team's offensive line, dubbed the "Seven Mules," who blocked for the famed "Four Horsemen" backfield. The 1924 team completed an undefeated season with a win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Walsh played every minute of the game against Army in 1924 with two broken hands, never missed a single snap of the ball, was involved in 75 percent of the tackles on defense, and intercepted a pass in the final minutes of the game to preserve a Notre Dame victory. He remains the offensive center on the All-time Notre Dame Team. Coaching career Walsh served as head football coach and athletic director at Santa Clara University from 1925 to 1928. He then spent five seasons as the line coach at Yale University, and one season at Harvard University in the same capacity. In 1935, Walsh accepted the head coaching position at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Though Bowdoin had been winless the prior year, Walsh began his 20-year coaching career at the college with a state championship. His teams won or tied for the Maine championship in seven of his first eight years at Bowdoin. Bowdoin suspended their football program in 1943 with the onset of World War II. In 1944, Walsh returned to Notre Dame as a line coach for a season. In 1945, he led the Cleveland Rams to the NFL Championship and coached the team the next season after a move to Los Angeles. He returned to Bowdoin after two years with the Rams and a 15–5–1 coaching record in the NFL. Between 1947 and 1958, Walsh's Bowdoin teams won outright or shared the Maine state championship four more times. Later life and honors After retiring from coaching, Walsh served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives, representing Brunswick as a Democrat and was appointed the U.S. Marshal for Maine under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Walsh was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968, the Helms Hall of Fame, and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. He was also named to the All-Time Southern California High School Team, the All-time Notre Dame Team, and the All-time Rose Bowl Team. Head coaching record College NFL References External links * * Category:1901 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Bowdoin Polar Bears football coaches Category:Harvard Crimson football coaches Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Category:Santa Clara Broncos football coaches Category:Santa Clara Broncos athletic directors Category:Yale Bulldogs football coaches Category:Cleveland Rams coaches Category:Los Angeles Rams coaches Category:Members of the Maine House of Representatives Category:United States Marshals Category:Bowdoin College faculty Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Warren County, Iowa Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles, California Category:Maine Democrats Category:People from Brunswick, Maine